Gender, Power, and Religion in Medieval Europe, 800-1100

This course examined the intersection of religious and secular power and the way these were reflected in and shaped by the gender systems of early medieval Europe. Topics studied included include Kantorowicz’s notion of “the king’s two bodies,” royal men and women, women and memorial culture, lineage and gender, marriage, and monastic culture. We examined the Carolingian world and its aftermath, Ottonian Germany, Anglo-Saxon England, Hungary, and the early Spanish kingdoms. The course also provided an opportunity for students to gain experience working with documentary sources: transcribing them, reading them, and interpreting them.